Elonis had railed against his ex wife, coworkers, children and an FBI agent investigating him via Facebook, sharing what he called “therapeutic” rap lyrics. The overt hostility, according to the Supreme Court, failed to prove that he was actually planning malicious or harmful actions.

The 7-2 judgement overturns Elonis’ 44-month prison sentence and three years of probation, and sends it the case back to the lower court. The jurors in his original trial had been instructed to find him guilty if a “reasonable person” would consider his lyrical tirade as a serious expression of intent to do harm.